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Whittell boys basketball improved to 18-3 overall with wins on Friday night at Pyramid Lake and Monday night against Loyalton.

Sophomore captain Palmer Chaplin led the Warriors in scoring with 29 points on Friday against the Lakers. Freshman Cole Snyder followed with eight.

Despite the win, Whittell had trouble finding the net as shot after shot rimmed out and several easy scoring opportunities went unfinished.

“For some reason we seem to go into a shooting slump when we play Pyramid Lake,” head coach Phil Bryant said in an email. “It can’t just be us, so we have to credit the defensive efforts of their kids.”

On Monday night, the Warriors battled Loyalton Grizzlies and didn’t allow a single point until just over one minute left in the first quarter, which ended with a score of 18-4. Whittell continued the double-digit lead going into halftime with a score of 37-16.

With the lead, the Warriors lost a sense of urgency and, Bryant said the team played carelessly through the second half.

“Games like this are hard for kids to keep their focus,” said Bryant. “We used every player on the roster and the combinations created some execution problems at times.”

Whittell went on to win 58-34 and continue to hold the top spot in the IV Northern League.

Mark Waite led the team with 19 points and nine rebounds. Bryce Bronken followed with 12 points and Palmer Chaplin had 11.

The team shot 26 percent from the field and went one for 19 in 3-pointers.

Whittell has three league games left on the season and have a one game lead in the standings.

“The opportunity to win a championship is right in front of us,” said Bryant.